Discover a vibrant, tropical cake made with dried and fresh mango, coconut, and caramelised plantains. Created by 'Great British Bake Off Finalist' Crystelle Pereira for our 'Eat My Cake' baking show, this unique dessert promises an unforgettable burst of flavours.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Wrap one half of a plantain in foil and bake for 40 minutes until the skin is black and the flesh is soft. Mash the flesh in a bowl and set aside.
Whisk together flour, cinnamon,
cardamom, baking powder and salt and set aside.
In a bowl, cream together butter
and sugars until light and fluffy.
Add in vanilla and eggs and mix
until smooth. Finally add in the cooked plantain and mix again.
In a measuring jug, add the
coconut milk and oil and whisk together.
Sieve in the flour mixture to the
wet ingredients, alternating with the milk/oil mixture.
Finally fold through the dried
mango
Line four 8 inch cake tins with
baking paper and butter/cooking spray, then sprinkle the base of each tin with
coconut, and layer over slices of mango. Then pour over the cake batter and
spread out, and sprinkle over more coconut over the batter.
Bake at 180°C/160°C fan for 18 mins until a skewer comes out clean.
Caramelised Plantains
To make the caramelised plantains, peel and dice the plantains. Add coconut oil to a pan and add the plantains into the hot oil, frying for 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the oil and set aside.
To the pan, add the sugar, cinnamon and water and mix until dissolved. Add back
in the cooked plantains and pour over the coconut milk, and stir until the
plantains are soft and the sauce has thickened. Set aside.
Mango Coconut Cream
To make the mango coconut cream, whisk the mascarpone with icing sugar together. Add in the coconut cream and whisk until combined. Finally add the vanilla and mango purée and mix until smooth.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Mix the butter and icing sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Then add the cream cheese and vanilla and mix until just combined.
Assembly
To assemble, add a cake layer on a board and spread over the mango coconut frosting, then pipe a border of the mango frosting. Fill the middle with the cooked caramelised plantains, then repeat with the rest of the cake. Finally coat the whole cake in cream cheese frosting and leave to set and harden in the fridge. Decorate as you wish, using some more fresh mango, caramelised plantain and toasted coconut.
